My Funny Valentine

Let's celebrate the day with a tune from the Great American Songbook.  Composed in 1937 by Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart, this chilling rendition by Elvis Costello is from 1979.

Change Is Now

From The Byrds, one of my favorite bands in the 60s.  I still like the band and their music, but wanted to write about the lyrics in this song; how they relate to their times and today.

Here are the full lyrics.  Wait a minute!  Don't forget to enjoy the music - the drone bass, Roger McGuinn's guitar solo which sounds like it was beamed in from outer space, the (unusual for the time) country music interlude, and the harmonies.

Change is now, change is now
Things that seemed to be solid are not
All is now, all is now
The time that we have to live

 

Gather all that we can
Keep in harmony with love's sweet plan

 

Truth is real, truth is real
That which is not real does not exist
In and out roundabout
Dance to the day when fear it is gone

 

Gather all that we can
Keep in harmony with love's sweet plan

 

Change is now, change is now
Things that seemed to be solid are not
In and out roundabout
Dance to the day when fear it is gone
Fear it is gone

What does it mean?

Let's set the context.  The Notorious Byrd Brothers album was released in January 1968 and recorded in the second half of 1967, just after the birth of hippiedom during The Summer of Love, and its lyrics reflect that sensibility.

Change is now, change is now
Things that seemed to be solid are not
All is now, all is now
The time that we have to live

There was a sense we had entered a new era.  Not me, them.  I was about to turn 17 and though my hair grew longer in the late 60s and I loved the music, I never considered myself a hippie.  The old paradigm was gone ("things that seemed to be solid are not").  Everything was up for grabs ("all is now").    There is no past we need to know about, nothing to learn from experience, it's in our hands to create a New World. 

Gather all that we can
Keep in harmony with love's sweet plan

Everybody is welcome.  Get on the Love Train.  If we simply love each other, all will be well.  No more details needed.  Did I mention there's nothing to learn from the past?

Truth is real, truth is real
That which is not real does not exist
In and out roundabout
Dance to the day when fear it is gone

That first line is very intriguing.  Notice they don't say "science is real" or "I believe in science" (that would also have been harder to rhyme) that ridiculous slogan of the past few years.  It is "Truth" that is real.  There is a reality so maybe everything is not up for grabs.  And the truth they are referring to is not necessarily a materialistic or scientific one, in fact since they're hippies it probably isn't.  It's likely a spiritual truth, a truth that man cannot just create, though they would hesitate to specifically call Christian or Jewish.  Of course, as Tom Holland points out in Dominion, whether they acknowledge it or not, the Christian worldview which permeates our civilization, is the springboard for that truth. 

 

"That which is not real does not exist" tells us that reality and belief may be separate, reminding me of Philip K Dick's notion that "reality is that which still exists when you stop believing in it".   The phrase is also contra to the creed of today's New Racists who believe that the manipulation of language can, in and of itself, create a new reality.  It's why belief is so essential for the NRs, and any deviation is such a threat it requires expulsion and branding as a heretic.  The hippies, in contrast, were content with folks "doing their own thing"; there was no cult from which one could be expelled.

 

Dancing was very important to the hippies.  It was an individual rite, or sometimes a group rite, but not something for couples to do.  It was liberating and the act of dancing could bring about change.  And the most important change needed was drive fear away, so that love could fill the world.  It was a simple view and seemingly easy to accomplish, a perspective that Elvis Costello, the noted foreign policy realist, rejected in 1977 when he told us "fear is here to stay, love is here for a visit".

The phrase "fear it is gone" is repeated three times during the song.  One of the reasons I didn't care for the hippie ethos at the time was the simple mindedness required, the deliberate avoidance of deep thinking, a mindset that allowed naive people to be easily manipulated by charismatic figures with evil intent.

Or maybe I'm reading too much into the lyrics and it was just all about the drugs.

 

In any event, the placid dream of peace and love ended quickly.  The milk of human kindness had curdled by August of 1968 when Jefferson Airplane released its fourth album, Crown of Creation, with the title song's mixture of narcissism, self-righteousness, and intolerance:

In loyalty to their kind

They cannot tolerate our minds

In loyalty to our kind

We cannot tolerate their obstruction!

A sentiment that would fit well in 2023 America.

Things deteriorated quickly in the late 1960s and early 70s.  A year after Crown of Creation, the Airplane were preaching revolution, and the Black Panthers and Weathermen were rolling.  Peace and love were over.  The difference between that period and now was that the revolutionaries were mostly rejected by the institutions, though they were able to grab a beach head in academia which they would exploit over the next few decades.  Today, people with those more revolutionary, intolerant, and violent beliefs are the ones running the institutions.  We've gone from "Don't Trust The Man" to "Trust Authority and You're Fired If You Don't". It's why today is a much more dangerous time.  For my reflections and personal experience with that earlier period read The Company You Keep.

I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself

With Burt Bacharach's passing at 94 the tributes are pouring in along with those lengthy lists of memorable songs.  I've written twice about Burt in Is Christopher Walken The Burt Bacharach Of Acting? and on his wonderful 1990s collaboration with Elvis Costello, Painted From Memory.

Here are four favorites (lyrics on the first three by brilliant Hal David), starting with Colin Hay's version of I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself.

Next up are two from Dionne Warwick, Anyone Who Had A Heart, with its odd-timing and rhythms (a Bacharach trademark), and Alfie, a simply sublime combination of musical composition, lyrics, and a perfect vocal, creating a very odd tune, and the title song for the movie which made Michael Caine, playing a rotten guy, a star.

 

 

Last is Burt and Elvis with the title song from their album Painted From Memory.

How Deep Is The Red?

From Elvis Costello's 2009 album, Secret, Profane and Sugarcane.  Backed by country players with no drummer.  How Deep Is The Red is a poignant tune, with a fine example of Elvis wordplay.  The fiddle is by Stuart Duncan.

Is this is not a pretty tale? Is this not a riddle?
A bow shoots arrows through the air
A bow drags notes from a fiddle
But who is the beau of a young girl's heart?
That a king may send to battle

The Sharpest Thorn

And it's the same most every year
Ghosts of the dear departed are near
We raise our glasses and we cheer
Should old acquaintance disappear
Just as we wipe away a tear

From Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint.

Elvis

As the second step in my reintroduction to live music, last night I saw Elvis Costello for the ninth time since 1977.  We go back a long way.

Elvis was backed up by the three-piece band, The Imposters, two-thirds of whom (Steve Nieve on keyboards and Pete Thomas on drums) have played with him since 1977.  We all go back a long way.

First time at Arizona Federal Theater, a large venue with 5,000 seats.  It wasn't a sellout but was pretty full.  Good venue and I'd definitely go see other shows there.

No opening act.  No encore.  In between, Elvis and the Imposters played for 2 1/2 hours with more than 30 songs.  A real hard rocking show.  Eight of the songs were in the set list of that 1977 show:

Watching the Detectives (probably the finest version I've heard him do)

Alison

Mystery Dance

I Don't Want To Go To Chelsea

You Belong To Me

This Year's Model

Radio Radio

Pump It Up

Elvis' voice has lost some range and fullness since we last saw him in April 2016.  Possibly attributable to age and/or his 2018 bout with aggressive prostate cancer requiring surgery and treatment, but he can still deliver a song.

Here's a clip from his Philadelphia show a couple of weeks ago.  He closed with the same songs last night: Radio Radio, Alison, Pump It Up and What's So Funny 'Bout Peace Love and Understanding?  Sound quality is poor, it was much more powerful in person last night.

Candy

 I don't watch college football but came across this disquisition on Halloween candy and European v American candy by Mississippi State coach Mike Leach.  Much better than the usual postgame coach comments.  Apparently, he is quite a character.  (Courtesy of Super 70s Sports, the most entertaining account on Twitter.)

Imagine being the coach who just lost 45-6 to this guy. I’m just proud to be an American right now … pic.twitter.com/eE9wrgN4nl

— Super 70s Sports (@Super70sSports) October 24, 2021

And while we are in the subject of candy let's go back to the 80s for a little Cameo.

And how about Paul McCartney's collaboration with Elvis Costello?

Rockin' The Rest

 From 1990 on, the last part of the My Concert series (I'll continue to update this):

 

November 14, 1997

U2

Smashmouth

Pro Player Stadium

Miami, FL

 

Took the THC daughter and two of her friends. Although we were quite a way from the stage our seats were directly in line with the speakers and it was incredibly loud (and I like loud music).  My ears were full of static for several days after.

 

August 20, 2001

Crosby, Stills and Nash

Oakdale Theater

Wallingford, CT

 

Talked into going to this by my sister.  Thought CSN would sound outdated and they had this reputation back in their heyday of not sounding good in concert.  I went and I was wrong. Very good show.  Their harmonies were tight and David Crosby's tenor was strong and beautiful.  Suite: Judy Blue Eyes was about 10 times better than the recorded version.

 

June 15, 2002

Elvis Costello & The Imposters

Oakdale Theater

Wallingford, CT

 

When I Was Cruel tour.  The Imposters were The Attractions without bassist Bruce Thomas, who'd been fired by Elvis. Another terrific Costello concert with three encores, the final one ending with Lipstick Vogue followed by I Want You, which is a very, very creepy ballad and a very, very odd, but Elvis-like choice, to end a concert.

 

September 10, 2003

Steely Dan

Oakdale Theater

Wallingford, CT 

Good, solid but not great show by one of my favorite bands.

July 14, 2007

Los Lonely Boys

New Haven Green

New Haven, CT

An outdoor, free concert on the Green in downtown New Haven on a balmy summer evening, sitting on the grass and listening to Henry, JoJo and Ringo Garza, the brothers of Los Lonely Boys.  Guitar-driven improvising, climaxed with a 20+ minute version of Onda.  Felt like I was back in 1971.  Very underrated band that was not as popular as it should have been.

 

April 15, 2008

Elvis Costello

Tony Bennett

Saturday Night Live Studio

NBC 30 Rock

New York City 

In 2008-9, Elvis filmed 20 shows for Spectacle TV in which he interviewed other musicians and then they performed separately and together.  Filming was done in the Saturday Night Live Studio, which was cordoned off into a smaller area with seating for about 250-300 people.  At the time, I worked for GE which owned NBC and a couple of people at 30 Rock knew I was an Elvis fan and got me tickets so I took Mrs THC and two close friends.  Tony Bennett was immensely cool.  He sang The Way You Look Tonight.  His voice was no longer what it once was, but he sang that song so beautifully I teared up. Elvis is a fine interviewer and the conversation was lively.  Diana Krall, Elvis' wife was seated in front of us (we were three rows from the stage) and Tony impulsively went out into the audience and pulled her up to perform a song with him.  A memorable evening.

May 28, 2009

Robert Randolph & The Family Band

Tarrytown Music Hall

Tarrytown NY

Robert Randolph is a unique entertainer and along with The Family Band one of the best club and party acts you will ever see.  Everyone in the audience was standing for the entire show.  Randolph plays pedal steel like lead guitar.

 

June 10, 2009

Elvis Costello

Beacon Theater

New York City

The Sulphur to Sugarcane tour with Elvis supported by a country band with no drummer.  Excellent, as usual.  32 songs, including encores.  Highlight was The Delivery Man.

 

March 5, 2014

Robert Randolph & The Family Band

Crescent Ballroom

Phoenix, AZ

Mrs THC and I raised the average age in the club by several years.  Awesome show by the awesome Robert Randolph.  Here's a clip from that show.

June 15, 2014

Kenny Wayne Shepherd featuring Robert Randolph

Ridgefield Playhouse

Ridgefield, CT

Ace guitarist Shepherd and ace pedal steel player Randolph, a dynamite combo.

August 14, 2014

Tedeschi Trucks Band

Simsbury Meadows

Simsbury CT

Susan Tedeschi's voice and Derek Truck, master of the slide guitar, are a perfect pair, as husband and wife and musicians.  Unexpectedly started off with a creative cover of Traffic's Who Knows What Tomorrow Will Bring.

 

April 8, 2016

Elvis Costello

Larkin Poe
Mesa Arts Center

Mesa, AZ

Mostly an Elvis solo show, with occasional backing by Larkin Poe and Nils Lofgren.  Heavy media with clips of Elvis' musician dad and Elvis in his early days.  Reimagined versions of songs from his huge catalogue.  This venue was designed for concerts and the sound quality was amazing.  We were in the last row of the 4th balcony and the sound was crystal clear.

 

September 2017

Los Lobos

Criterion Theatre

Bar Harbor, Maine

 

A fun time in a small venue (several hundred seats).  Thirty years after first seeing them the band still sounded fine and David Hidalgo's voice had held up well. 

November 2017

Tedeschi Trucks Band

Orpheum Theater

Phoenix, AZ

 

As good as the last time around. 

November 16, 2019

The Black Keys

Talking Stick Resort Arena

Phoenix AZ

This was one fine rock n roll show.  The sound quality was clear and crisp, particularly for large arena.

November 5, 2021

Tommy Emmanuel

Mesa Arts Center

Mesa AZ

Back to live music!  What a great guitarist and showman.

November 10, 2021

Elvis Costello & The Imposters

Federal Theater

Phoenix AZ

 

Elvis once again.  No opening act.  Played for 2 1/2 hours.  New stuff, old stuff, in between stuff.  His voice is not what it once was, but still a fine show.  Played half the songs I heard at his first concert in 1977. 

May 17, 2023

Billy Strings

Financial Theater

Phoenix AZ

Had wanted to see Billy since discovering him in the fall of 2021.  Outstanding show.  Nearly three hours highlighted by a 30 minute combo of several songs including Hide and Seek.  Incredible guitarist and the players in his band (banjo, fiddle, upright bass, mandolin) are just as good.

 

April 15, 2024

Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain

Casa de Christo Lutheran Church

Scottsdale AZ 

 

Been a fan for years. Good musicians with a great sense of musical humor.  Covered everything from ZZ Top to Robert Palmer, The Clash, Willie Nelson, a medley of Live on Mars/My Way/For Once in My Life/Substitute/Born Free, The Muppet Show Theme, the Bond movie theme, to Black Sabbath's Paranoid intertwined with Dance of the Sugar Plum Fair.  Also a straight and gorgeous version of Dreams by The Cranberries and closed with Kiss' God Gave Rock n Roll to You. 

 

May 28, 2024

Molly Tuttle

Musical Instruments Museum Theater

Phoenix AZ

 

Molly is part of the new bluegrass thing along with Billy Strings and Sierra Hull.  A terrific show with a mixture of originals, bluegrass (lovely version of Shady Grove), and rock covers featuring She's A Rainbow by the Stones and Jefferson Airplane's White Rabbit.  None of the covers were straight; all introduced unique elements. 

 

March 5, 2025

Chicago

Celebrity Theater

Phoenix AZ

 

A last minute invite from a friend; had not known they were still touring. A fun show though the sound balance could have been better.  Played their hits (of which there were many) and most popular cuts off their albums.  Musically, they miss their phenomenal original guitarist (Terry Kath) and drummer (Danny Seraphine) but still enjoyable.  Only three of the original members are still with the band.  

 

March 16, 2025

Taj Mahal

Musical Instruments Museum Theater

Phoenix AZ 

 

I first heard Taj in the late 60s but had never seen him perform.  He's now almost 82 and moving a lot slower than he used to but his voice and playing was as strong as ever.  Played electric, acoustic, and steel guitar, ukelele, banjo, and keyboards.  An eclectic mix of country blues, roots music, reggae and even Hawaiian music.  A fun show.

 

December 10, 2025

Billy Strings

BOK Center

Tulsa OK

 

Fantastic long show by Billy and the boys.  Only knew about 1/3 of the songs but it did not make any difference.  Next morning visited the Bob Dylan Center. 

Rockin' The 80s

A belated third installment to the My Concerts series.  Better do this before I forget more.

Concert going dropped off in the 80s, due to the intensity of work and the birth of our two children.  What started me back was when my dad moved to Massachusetts in 1985 and during the summers worked at the ticket office at Great Woods in Mansfield, Ma where he got us some pretty good tickets for shows.  I've probably forgotten a couple of others.

February 5, 1981

Elvis Costello & The Attractions

Squeeze

Orpheum Theater

Boston MA

 

Elvis' 4th U.S. tour and the 4th time I'd seen him.  Our tickets were in the balcony and the sound was very bad when the opening act, Squeeze, was playing.  We moved downstairs before Elvis started and stood behind the last row of seats. The stage was completely dark when Elvis began to sing unaccompanied the ballad, Just A Memory, with Steve Nieve's piano joining in midway. A captivating start to an absolutely stunning show.  Elvis played 29 songs.

 

July 1986

Bob Dylan

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

Great Woods

Mansfield MA

 

Went to this show because of Dylan, who turned out to be terrible.  Went in not a big fan of Petty but came out one.  This was a very long show with five sets.  First Petty, then Dylan, then Petty, then Dylan and then all together.  Dylan sang everything in a rush and half the time you couldn't even figure out what he was singing.  Petty and the Heartbreakers were terrific.  A high point was The Waiting.

 

August 1986

The Eurythmics

Great Woods

Mansfield MA

 

I liked the catchy pop music of The Eurythmics along with Annie Lennox's voice.  But their music videos left me thinking the band was very weird and Lennox seemed a cold and remote personality.  What a difference seeing them live!  Annie Lennox projected warmth and friendliness and her voice was lush and expressive.

 

September 1986

Neil Young & Crazy Horse

Great Woods

Mansfield, MA

 

Had always wanted to see Young and he did not disappoint.  I closed my eyes and listened to his guitar soaring over everything.   

 

July 1987

Peter Gabriel

Great Woods

Mansfield MA

 

Gabriel came across as pompous.  Didn't like the show.

August 1987

Los Lobos

The Smithereens

Great Woods

Mansfield MA

The Smithereens had recently had a couple of hits I enjoyed, particularly Blood and Roses and were really solid.  Then Los Lobos came on and were simply outstanding. 

St Stephen's Day Murders

Saint Stephen, considered the first Christian martyr, was stoned to death in 36 AD.  He is celebrated on the second day of Christmastide, December 26, a day considered a holiday in several countries, including Ireland.  One writer describes it as:

. . . the day where the previous day’s indulgences are to be dealt with, boarded up and cleaned out. It’s also the day where simmering tensions that may have been temporarily quelled by the season’s festivities start to arise, and the quickest way to assuage them is by drowning them in liquor and leftovers. 

In 1991, Elvis Costello created his sardonic take on the day which he recorded with the great Irish band The Chieftains.  Enjoy. 

I knew of two sisters whose name it was Christmas

And one was named Dawn of course, the other one was named Eve. 

I wonder if they grew up hating the season, The good will that lasts til the Feast of St. Stephen 

For that is the time to eat, drink, and be merry,  

Til the beer is all spilled and the whiskey has flowed.  

And the whole family tree you neglected to bury,  

Are feeding their faces until they explode.  

There'll be laughter and tears over Tia Marias,  

Mixed up with that drink made from girders.

Cause it's all we've got left as they draw their last breath,  

Ah, it's nice for the kids, as you finally get rid of them,

In the St Stephen's Day Murders. 

 

Uncle is garglin' a heart-breaking air,  

While the babe in his arms pulls out all that remains of his hair.  

And we're not drunk enough yet to dare criticize,  

The great big kipper tie he's about to baptize. 

With his gin-flavored whiskers and kisses of sherry, 

His best Chrimbo shirt slung out over the shop.  

While the lights from the Christmas tree blow up the telly,  

His face closes in like an old cold pork chop.  

And the carcass of the beast left over from the feast, 

May still be found haunting the kitchen. 

And there's life in it yet, we may live to regret,  

When the ones that we poisoned stop twitchin'.  

There'll be laughter and tears over Tia Marias, 

Mixed up with that drink made from girders. 

Cause it's all we've got left as they draw their last breath,  

Ah, it's nice for the kids, as you finally get rid of them,

In the St Stephen's Day Murders.

Opening The Show

The best approaches to opening a rock or pop concert are to have a first song that either comes strong right out of the box and energizes the crowd or something slow, dramatic, and unexpected to rivet their attention.

While living in the Boston area I saw concerts by Elvis Costello & The Attractions on each of their first 4 U.S. tours between 1977 and 1980.  I can't remember the first songs from the 1st and 3rd concerts but Elvis deployed both strategies effectively in the 2nd and 4th shows, both at the Orpheum Theater downtown.

In May 1978, Elvis opened with No Action, also the opening song on his recently released second album, This Year's Model featuring a fast pace, thunderous drumming, and sardonic lyrics (I don't wanna kiss you/ I don't wanna touch/ I don't wanna see you/ cause I don't miss you that much).

In contrast the 4th show started with the stage and theater completely dark.  Suddenly out of the darkness, unaccompanied by any instruments came Elvis' voice, "laying about lying in bed/maybe it was something that I thought I'd said", the opening lines of Just A Memory (a song he'd originally written for Dusty Springfield, who later recorded it), soon to be joined by the beautiful piano playing of Steve Nieve of The Attractions.  It was just Elvis and Steve for the entire song and it certainly caught everyone's attention.

Here are both tunes.  The recorded version of Just A Memory begins with keyboards but the concert version began with Elvis' voice.

Rockin' The 70s

1970s that is.  A continuation of my post on concerts I attended during the 1970s.  I'm certain I'm forgetting some from this decade.

May 23, 1970
Jefferson Airplane
U of Wisconsin Field House
Madison WI

From the date, this is probably the last thing I did in Madison before leaving.  I spent my freshman year of college (1969-70) at the University of Wisconsin and then decided to drop out.

We sat in the bleachers in the field house for an afternoon show.  The school year had been disrupted by demonstrations, strikes, and violence, and then collapsed in the wake of the Cambodia invasion and Kent State, so it was appropriate that it ended with the Jefferson Airplane in its peak craziness phase playing songs from the overwrought Volunteers album.  

October 13, 1970

Chicago

Capitol Theatre

Port Chester, NY 

Back when the band was hard rocking.  Good show.

1970 or 71
The Kinks
Wesleyan University
Middletown CT

As readers know I am a yuuge Kinks fan.  My dim recollection is this was a typically shambolic Kinks show - they were probably drunk - in a gym where we sat in the floor. That's all I got for you.

June 26, 1971
Allman Brother Band
J Geils Band
Albert King
Fillmore East
East Village
Manhattan NY

Last night of the Fillmore East.  Amazing show.  Went to hear J Geils and Albert King (who were wonderful) but came out a fan of the Allman Brothers who were astonishing - they hit the trifecta with Hot 'Lanta, Whipping Post, and most of all, In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed.  Here's my full recollection. As I left the first show that night I walked past the future Mrs THC who was in line for the second show.

July 1971

Jethro Tull

Capitol Theatre

Port Chester, NY 

The Aqualung tour.  Great show.  Ian Anderson whirling and hopping around.  Will always remember Martin Barre's sizzling guitar on Aqualung.

1971 or 72
Chick Correa
Clark University
Worcester MA

Held in a lounge area on campus.  Was not familiar with the pianist at the time but really enjoyed it.  

1971 or 72
Jesse Colin Young
Clark University
Worcester MA

One of the most underrated bands of the 60s was The Youngbloods, founded by Jesse Colin Young, who did one of the best, and least known, songs of the 60s - Darkness, Darkness. By the early 70s, Jesse embarked on a solo career.  The man had a gorgeous voice.

1972 or 73
John Lee Hooker
Sir Morgan's Cove
Worcester MA

The legendary king of the one chord boogie (for more read this THC post).  Great show.  The man was an intimidating presence.

The venue was a small club in Worcester, where acts usually played for 4 or 5 nights in a row.  In another incarnation, after Sir Morgan's moved down the street and changed its name, it was where The Rolling Stones launched their 1981 US tour with a surprise tune up.

(Yep, this is the place)

July 1972
The Rolling Stones
Stevie Wonder
Madison Square Garden
Manhattan NY

The Exile On Main St tour.  In the balcony for this sold-out show.  At the time I liked Stevie Wonder but was not a true fan.  Today, I am and have a lot of his music in my iTunes library.  The Stones were good, not great.  Towards the end of the show they turned the lights on in the Garden and the crowd went nuts for the rest of the concert.

August 1972
The Kinks
Dr Hook & The Medicine Show
Berkeley Community Theater
Berkeley CA

Another Kinks show I don't remember well except they did a lot of material from their fine Muswell Hillbillies record.  Dr Hook & The Medicine Show were best known for On The Cover Of Rolling Stone and the execrable Sylvia's Mother.

1972 or 1973
James Cotton Blues Band
Sir Morgan's Cove
Worcester MA

I also saw at least one other, perhaps two shows at the Cove; pretty certain one was Les McCann, and the other may have been Muddy Waters.

Cotton, who passed in 2017, was one of the finest harmonica players, and a talented singer and songwriter.  Here he is.

UPDATE:  It wasn't exactly a rock concert but I recently vaguely remembered attending a Marlene Dietrich concert with my mother, who loved Dietrich, in the early 1970s that was held in the Danbury, CT area.  A little research revealed Dietrich played a week of shows at the Candlewood Playhouse in New Fairfield, CT in July 1974.  I was left with the impression of watching a fading diva (Marlene was 73 at the time) do her thing for an adoring audience.  Dietrich retired from performing the following year.

Fall 1974
Al Stewart
Orpheum Theater
Boston MA

Stewart performed the historical songs from his Past, Present, and Future album.  The emotional highlight was Road To Moscow, his epic song of the Eastern Front in World War Two (and the subject of one of THC longest posts, The Annotated Roads To Moscow), backed by a three part screen spanning most of the stage showing scenes from that conflict, capped by projecting a photo across all the screens of Alexander Solzhenitysn as former soldier, imprisoned in the Gulag; a climax given added poignancy with the publishing of The Gulag Archipelago in December 1973 and Solzhenitsyn's expulsion from the Soviet Union the following February.

The Orpheum was the big rock concert hall in Boston, where established acts came to perform.

December 9, 1974
Genesis
Orpheum Theater
Boston MA

The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway tour, the last before Peter Gabriel left, leading eventually to the band's superb prog rock drummer, Phil Collins, becoming its front man for the recharged and more pop oriented Genesis of the 1980s.  I was a fan of early Genesis except did not care for the Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.  Bizarre show with Gabriel wearing his odd costumes; the highlight came at the end - The Musical Box from the 1971 Nursery Cryme album - watch and behold the glory and absurdity of peak prog rock!  Here ya go, and don't miss the last three minutes.

1975-78
Jonathan Edwards
Multiple venues in Boston area

From 1975 to 1978 I lived in Maynard, MA and two of my roommates were full time musicians.  One had just started as pianist and arranger for Jonathan Edwards.  Edwards had one big hit, Sunshine, in 1971, but remained a popular live act, particularly in New England.  I saw Jonathan and the band play several times and they put on a great show.  Unfortunately, I can't find any video from this time period.  Kenny White was, and is, an incredibly talented pianist.  He went on to a two decade career arranging and producing commercials, many of which you will remember, and for the last 15 years has pursued a solo career and is currently opening for Stephen Stills and Judy Collins on their tour. Jonathan is also the link connecting me with Elvis Costello (for more see below).

Sometime between 1975 and 1978
BB King
Worcester MA

What a pleasure listening to that man play and sing.  There were better guitarists but no one ever had a sweeter tone.

February 20, 1975
Roxy Music
Orpheum Theater
Boston MA

One of my favorite 70s band.  Wild and loopy stuff.  By the end of the decade their shtick became boring.  To sample the work of Bryan Ferry and the gang try Do The Strand, A Song For Europe, and In Every Dream Home A Heartache. 

1976 or 1977
NRBQ
Cambridge MA

The New Rhythm and Blues Quartet.  A regional Northeast favorite for many years, featuring Al Anderson on lead guitar.   Raucous and fun.  This was the best I could find on YouTube but doesn't really capture their full power.

December 9 or 10, 1977
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
ParadiseClub
Boston MA

You can read how I learned about Elvis, and that first show here.  He was electrifying.

Just came across this audio of the December 9 show.  This is not exactly the playlist we heard so I think we were there on the 10th.  He played every song listed but at least one other, (I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea.  To understand what it was like, listen to the last two songs, Lipstick Vogue and Watching The Detectives, starting at 31:40, though the audio understates how loud The Attractions were that night.

The Paradise Club opened on September 22, 1977 and was up Commonwealth Avenue, just beyond Boston U.  Seating a few hundred (my recollection is less than 500) it was where bands on their first US tours often played.

May 4, 1978

Elvis Costello & The Attractions

Mink DeVille

Nick Lowe & Rockpile

Orpheum Theater

Boston MA

On the heels of This Year's Model, Elvis and the band were quickly back in Boston playing a much bigger venue.  Another show filled with tension and excitement.  Elvis was beginning to master how to control large audiences.  Nick Lowe was good.  Mink DeVille was not.

June 18, 1978
The Jam
Lyceum Ballroom
London UK

There were two other forgettable bands on the bill for this show headlined by The Jam, who I already knew from In The City.  Concert was sold out.  We stood at back for entire show.

I had arrived in Europe in late May, not returning until the end of September, and spending time in France, UK, Italy, and Greece.  The future Mrs THC was in Paris.  Had a friend living in London and went to see him and another U.S. friend who came over and the three of us went to the Lyceum.

Summer 1978
Doc Watson
Paris France

I fell in love with Doc's voice and guitar playing a few years before by listening to Will The Circle Be Unbroken.  His warm speaking and singing voice enveloped the listener.  Seeing him live was a similar experience.   His son, Merle, played with him.  Can't find information on the location.  We ended up seated next to some French guys my age who were learning to play baseball under the tutelage of an American coach.  A few days later I met up with them at the Bois de Boulogne to play some ball.

February 23, 1979
Dire Straits
Paradise Club
Boston MA

In the fall of 1978 I heard songs by two new bands that immediately captured me.  The first, Roxanne by The Police, the second, Sultans of Swing by Dire Straits.  When Mark Knopfler's band came to Boston for the first show on its first US tour I had to see them.

March 29, 1979
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
Squeeze
Orpheum Theater
Boston MA

The acoustics were lousy for this concert,  so it's the only of the eight times seeing Elvis I left disappointed.  Too bad, because Squeeze were on the bill and did not impress me since could not hear them well, though I later became a fan.  Elvis would totally redeem himself with a masterful performance upon returning to the Orpheum in 1981. 

[ADDED: I mixed this up.  Squeeze opened the 1981 show.  Elvis was good but did not meet the high expectations set by his first two shows.]

Summer/Fall 1979 (?)
Boomtown Rats
Paradise Club
Boston MA

Uncertain about the time here, could have been in '80.  An Irish Band, fronted by Bob Geldorf.  Their only hit in the US was I Don't Like Mondays, but I preferred Rat Trap, their attempt at a Bruce Springsteen anthem.

1973-79
The Boston Bands

During this period I saw a lot of fine local acts in Cambridge and Boston bars, like the Pousette Dart Band and Zamcheck, but remember most The Estes Boys, a popular country rock band, because my other roommate musician, Eli Nelson, played pedal steel in the group.  Went to many of their gigs, many of them at Jonathan Swift's, a bar in Harvard Square, at one of which I sat with Red Sox pitcher, Bill "Spaceman" Lee, who was very funny, and very hammered.  This is what the Estes Boys sounded like.  Eli went on to play pedal steel on tour with Mickey Gilley's Urban Cowboy Band.

I Don't Want To Go To Chelsea

I don't want to check your pulse/ I don't want nobody else

From Elvis Costello & The Attractions circa 1978.  Ah, the good old days, when Elvis sung of fear, suspicion, self-loathing, and vengeance.

Rock Kidney Song

"When someone starts talking in the middle of a song you know it's serious."

From 30 Rock featuring Sheryl Crow, Elvis Costello, Mary J Blige, Norah Jones, Adam Levine, Moby, Michael McDonald, Wyclef Jean, Robert Randolph, Cindy Lauper, and the Beastie Boys.

Painted From Memory

Elvis Costello is the only person Paul McCartney has co-written songs with other than John Lennon.  And Elvis is the only person to partner with both McCartney and Burt Bacharach.  Only 1998's Painted From Memory, Elvis and Burt collaborated on twelve songs of love and heartbreak.  Elvis wrote the lyrics while the two of them worked together on the music, which incorporates Burt's trademark time signature changes, Christopher Walken phrasing, and distinctive horn arrangements.

Here are some favorites:

This House Is Empty Now posing the memorable lyrical question, "does the extinguished candle care about the darkness?"

Toledo

You hear her voice
"How could you do that?"

Painted From Memory

Those eyes
I try to capture
They are lost to me now forever
They smile for someone else

Such Unlikely Lovers

I'm not saying that there will be violins
But don't be surprised if they appear
Playing in some doorway
Still I can't believe that this is happening

You Belong To Me

Don't want to be a goody-goody . . .

Elvis Costello & The Attractions; the early years.  May 1978.  THC saw them perform on this tour.

The Detour Tour

Last night, THC and Mrs THC caught Elvis Costello at the Ikeda Theater located in the Mesa Arts Center.  It is one of the best concert venues THC has been in.   Beautiful aesthetically, the acoustics are incredibly good.  By the time we found out about the show the only seats we could get were in the last row of the balcony but the sound was crystal clear even there.  This was the 8th time THC has seen Mr Costello since December 1977.
(from AZCentral)

This was a solo Elvis show (he's calling it The Detour Tour) consisting of him telling many stories and playing piano and guitar (many guitars, in fact) in the course of singing about 30 songs over 2 1/2 hours, all backed by entertaining videos, including one of his father, who Elvis resembles in looks and mannerisms, leading his band and singing If I Had A Hammer on an early 1960s British TV show.

(Ross McManus, Elvis' Dad)
Elvis opened with an eerie version of Lipstick Vogue, which THC thought could not be done well solo, but he was wrong.  He was joined for several songs by the Lovell sisters of Larkin Poe (the opening act) and then, for the last two songs, by a surprise guest, Nils Lofgren, who added some wonderful guitar work.

His back catalogue of top-notch songs is so large he could have done another two shows of equal quality with an entirely different set list.
 (from AZ Central)

This long review from AZCentral captures the spirit of the evening.  Some excerpts:

Detour, as the show was billed, featured Costello alone on assorted guitars and piano singing songs and telling stories that were frequently hilarious but also deeply moving on occasion

It’s a format that works for a number of reasons. One, he’s clearly got the voice to fill a room (or reach inside your chest and tear your heart out when required). Two, his catalog is rich with songs that lend themselves to that “unplugged” approach, aside from which the man has always had a knack for recasting familiar songs in unexpected lights.

But perhaps the main reason Costello is better at this kind of format than any performer I’ve seen is that he’s got the personality to keep you entertained from start to finish. He’s kind of a kook -- with a dry British wit and a well-honed sense of the absurd.

(Ikeda Theater)

Getting Sardonic With Elvis (Vol 3)

For Parts 1 & 2.

So there he was on a water bed
Drinking a cola of a mystery brand
Reading an airport novelette
Listening to Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Requiem"

He said before it had really begun
"I prefer the one about my son
I've been wading through all of this unbelievable junk
And wondering if I should have given the world to the monkeys"

God's Comic   

So you bay for the boy in the tiger skin trunks
They set him up, set him up on the stool
He falls down, he falls down like a drunk
And you drink till you drool
And it's his story you'll flatter
You'll stretch him out like a saint
But the canvas that he splattered
Will be the picture that you never paint

Deep Dark Truthful Mirror

Ever since you left I have been trying to
Compose a "baby, will you please come home?" note, meant for you
As I clear away another untouched TV dinner
From the table I laid for two

My Brave Face (composed with Paul McCartney)

Here lie the records that she scratched
And on the sleeve I find a note attached
And it's so like Candy
"My Darling Dear it's such a waste"
She couldn't say "goodbye, but I admire your taste"
And it's so like Candy

So Like Candy (composed with Paul McCartney)

She was smitten from the first
By a curious fellow
She said "I love the way you talk"
And with her flounce she announces
"I love the way that you pronounce it - marshmallow"

Well he looked like one of those
Who would take off his clothes
Like he would peel a tangerine
No one's been known to decline this
Once he has found out what your sign is

My Mood Swings

Oh, if I could just become forgetful
When night seems endless
Does the extinguished candle care
About the darkness?

This House Is Empty Now (composed with Burt Bacharach)

Maybe I was washed out
Like a lip-print on his shirt 

Since I lost the power to pretend
That there could ever be a happy ending
That song is sung out

This bell is rung out

God Give Me Strength (composed with Burt Bacharach)

And so this had to be
Painted from memory
Funny, now I can see
How looks can be deceiving

Painted From Memory (composed with Burt Bacharach)

And it's the same every year
Seems that I remember it as something more
But you know how children can grow, so strange
I still adore you

What if we never learn from our mistakes?
But then, you'll never know how my heart aches 

Tears At the Birthday Party (composed with Burt Bacharach)

And you're such a people person
Alibi, alibi
And I will be true to you forever
Alibi, alibi
But you're stupid and you're lazy
Alibi, alibi
Maybe we can make the future better
Alibi, alibi

You don't fit the body that you're trapped in
Alibi, alibi
Papa's got a brand new
Alibi, alibi


But if I've done something wrong there's no "ifs and buts"
'Cos I love you just as much as I hate your guts

Alibi

Bells are chiming for victory
There's a page back in history
45
They came back to the world that they fought for
Didn't turn out just like they thought
45

Nine years later a child is born
There's a record, so you put it on
45
Nine years more, if we're lucky now
Nine-year-old puts his money down
45
Every scratch, every click, every heartbeat
Every breath that I held for you
45
There's a stack of shellac and vinyl
Which is yours now and which is mine?
45

Bass and treble heal every hurt
There's a rebel in a nylon shirt
But the words are a mystery, I've heard
'Til you turn it down to 33 and a 1/3

45 

If only dust could gather into lines of chalk
Around a silhouette detective fiction walks
For it's the only witness that can testify
Can I spit out the truth?
Or would you rather just swallow a lie?

Dust

One wine-bar vamp with the polythene face
Ein Panzer Kommander with no hair in place
The crooked battalions drilled holes in the square

15 Petals

"Abel was able," so Vivian said
Her shoulders flung forward
Her lips in a purse
She talks like the beauty that she never was
Of the fabulous wild nights that she never has

In a certain light he looked like Elvis
In a certain way he feels like Jesus
Everyone dreams of him just as they can
But he's only the humble Delivery Man

Geraldine blushes and brushes away
The cigarette ashes that Vivian scatters
Stares out of the window at the things that she says
While gossip within her competes the widow

Ever since he's gone, she feels like crying all the time
She knows for sure, Vivian is lying
Now she has a daughter to raise as she can
And she just wouldn't trust that Delivery Man

Ivy puts down the ghost story she's reading
Looks up at that face on the wall
Thinking about how her father lay bleeding
Shot in the back 'cos orders were misleading
And how a flag and a medal don't have any meaning

On the 5th of July as they tore down the fair
And he'd seen all the local girls who were worth kissing
With the smell of the gunpowder still in air
They noticed that Abel and Ivy were missing

In a certain light he looked like Elvis
In a certain way he seemed like Jesus
He said "Why can't you be kind to me like you were meant to be?
When they let me out, I had a brand new identity
Now everyone dreams of me just as they can
I want to be your Delivery Man"

In a certain light he looked like Elvis
In a certain way he seemed like Jesus
In a certain light he looked like Elvis
In a certain way he felt like Jesus

The Delivery Man 

Is this is not a pretty tale?
Is this not a riddle?
A bow shoots arrows through the air
A bow drags notes from a fiddle
But who is the beau of young girl's heart?

How Deep Is The Red?

Now if you catch my eye and you find that it runs down your leg
It's like striking a match pretty hard upon a powder keg
They tell you from the borders to the waters of the gulf
If you take all the sugar you will end up in the sulphur

The women in Poughkeepsie
Take their clothes off when they're tipsy
But in Albany, New York
They love the filthy way I talk
Until they gargle with the finest champagne
They can't get the grape and the grain
It's not very far from Sulphur to Sugarcane

Up in Syracuse
I was falsely accused
But I'm not here to hurt you
I'm here to steal your virtue
Down in Bridgeport
The women will kill you for sport
But in Worcester, Massachusetts
They love my sauce

The women in Poughkeepsie
Take their clothes off when they're tipsy
But I hear in Ypsilanti
They don't wear any panties
Once they gargle with the finest champagne
They hitch up their skirts and exclaim
It's not very far, sugar
It's not very far, sugar
Pour a little sugar on me, sugar
It's not very far from Sulphur to Sugarcane

Sulphur To Sugarcane

 

Gettin' Sardonic With Elvis Costello (Vol. 2)

For Vol. 1 and to understand what the heck this is about, go here.  These selections are from the five Elvis Costello albums released between 1982 and 1988.

Sheep to the slaughter
Oh, I thought this must be love
All your sons and daughters
In a stranglehold with a kid glove
She's got eyes like saucers
Oh, you think she's a dish
She is the blue chip
That belongs to the big fish

Big Sister's Clothes

The little corporal got in the way
And he got hit by an emotional ricochet
It's a bit more now than dressing up dolly
Playing house seems so melancholy

On your marks, man, ready, set
Let's get loaded and forget

Shot With His Own Gun

All the muscles flex and the fingers curl
And a cold sweat breaks out on the sweater girl
Oh, he's all hands, don't touch that dial
The courting cold war weekend witch trial

Strict Time

The teacher never told you anything but white lies
But you never see the lies and you believe
Oh, you know you have been captured
You feel so civilized
And you look so pretty in your new lace sleeves

New Lace Sleeves

Love on the never never dreams don't come cheap
I don't close my eyes when I go to sleep

White Knuckles

You need protection from the physical art of conversation
Though the fist is mightier than the lip it adds the aggravation

Are you so superior, are you in much pain
Are you made out of porcelain?
When they made you they broke the cast
Don't wanna be first, I just wanna last

You'll Never Be A Man

The long arm of the law
Slides up the outskirts of town

Clubland

Curious women running after curious men
Curiosity didn't kill the cat, it was a poisoned pen
But there's not much choice between a cruel mouth
And a jealous voice

Well, well, fancy that
Millions murdered for a kiss me quick

Pretty Words

Almost blue, it's almost touching
It will almost do
There is part of me that's always true, always
Not all good things come to an end
Now it is only a chosen few

Almost Blue

It's the last thing I want to do
Pull the curtains on me and you
Pull the carpet from under love
Pull out like young lovers do
You swore you wouldn't shout
If it's not your punch, then it's your pout

I crept out last night behind your back
The little they know might be the piece I lack
Came home drunk, talking in circles
The spirit is willing, but I don't believe in miracles

I feel like a boy with a problem
I can't believe you've forgotten
Sleeping with forgiveness in your heart for me

Boy With A Problem

We fight so frail
Making love tooth and nail
You give me the kiss of my life
I might even live to tell the tale

Kid About It

I would have waited all my life
Just to make love out of something other than spite
But the beauty is the beast you're baiting
Should be really worth the waiting

Little Savage

History repeats the old conceits
The glib replies, the same defeats
Keep your fingers on important issues
With crocodile tears and a pocket full of tissues

Charged with insults and flattery
Her body moves with malice
Do you have to be so cruel to be callous?

Beyond Belief 

She said that she was working for the ABC News
It was as much of the alphabet as she knew how to use
Her perfume was unspeakable
It lingered in the air
Like her artificial laughter
Her mementos of affairs

It was a fine idea at the time
Now it's a brilliant mistake

Brilliant Mistake

OK, a warning before this next one.  The lyrics are creepy; add the music and it becomes the scariest love song you'll ever hear.  Awhile ago, THC featured Fiona Apple doing a completely psycho version.  You can guess the title.

Oh my baby, baby, I love you more than I can tell
I don't think I can live without you and I know that I never will
Oh my baby, baby, I want you so it scares me to death
I can't say anymore than I love you, everything else is a waste of breath

I want you, you've had your fun, you don't get well no more
I want you, your fingernails go dragging down the wall
Be careful, darling, you might fall

I want you, I woke up and one of us was crying
I want you, you said, "Young man, I do believe you're dying"
I want you, if you need a second opinion as you seem to do these days
I want you, you can look in my eyes and you can count the ways

I want you, did you mean to tell me but seem to forget?
I want you, since when were you so generous and inarticulate?
I want you, it's the stupid details that my heart is breaking for
It's the way your shoulders shake and what they're shaking for

I want you, it's knowing that he knows you now after only guessing
It's the thought of him undressing you or you undressing
I want you, he tossed some tattered compliment your way
I want you and you were fool enough to love it when he said, "I want you"

I want you, the truth can't hurt you, it's just like the dark
It scares you witless but in time you see things clear and stark
I want you, go on and hurt me then we'll let it drop
I want you, I'm afraid I won't know where to stop

I want you, I'm not ashamed to say, "I cried for you"
I want you, I want to know the things you did that we do too
I want you, I want to hear he pleases you more than I do
I want you, I might as well be useless for all it means to you

I want you, did you call his name out as he held you down?
I want you, oh no, my darling, not with that clown, I want you
I want you, you've had your fun, you don't get well no more

I want you
I want you

I want you, every night when I go off to bed and when I wake up
I want you, I'm going to say it once again 'til I instill it
I am goin', goin' feel this way until you kill it

I want you
I want you
I want you

Gettin' Sardonic With Elvis Costello (Vol. 1)

(from seventiesmusic)

To paraphrase Keith Moon, Elvis Costello is the best Elvis Costello-style lyricist of the rock era, by turns sardonic, witty, caustic and king of the put-down of himself, and others.  Add in a large vocabulary, (his first compliation of published music and lyrics was entitled "A Singing Dictionary"), and a love of wordplay and puns (see, for example, Girls Talk, below) and you've got a great package for a lyricist if you like those attributes, as THC does (for more on THC's experience with Elvis read this).  As the years went by, he also added a dose of tenderness into his verse.

In this post, we'll give you some excerpts from the early Elvis, drawing from albums released from 1977 though 1981.  Some pop lyrics don't sound as good, once they are separated from the music.  These do.

I said, "I'm so happy, I could die"
She said, "Drop dead",
Then left with another guy

(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes 

You snatch a tune, you match a cigarette
She pulls the eyes out with a face like a magnet
I don't know how much more of this I can take
She's filing her nails, while they're dragging the lake

You think you're alone until you realize you're in it
Fear is here to stay
Love is here for a visit

Watching The Detectives

All of your family had to kill to survive
And they're still waiting for their big day to arrive
But if they knew how I felt they'd bury me alive

Welcome To The Working Week

I could tell by the nights when I was lonely
And you were the only one who'd come
I could tell you that I like your sensitivity
When you know it's the way that you walk

Why do you have to say that there's always someone
Who can do it better than I can?
But don't you think that I know
That walking on the water, won't make me a miracle man?

Miracle Man

Well, I see you got a husband now
Did he leave your pretty fingers lying in the wedding cake?
You used to hold him right in your hands
I'll bet he took all he could take
Sometimes I wish that I could stop you from talking
When I hear the silly things that you say

Alison, I know this world is killing you
Alison, my aim is true

Alison  

I remember when the lights went out
And I was trying to make it look like it was never in doubt
She thought that I knew, and I thought that she knew
The both of us were willing, but we didn't know how to do it

I was down under the covers in the middle of the night
Trying to discover my left foot from my right
You can see those pictures, in any magazine
But what's the use of looking, when you don't know what they mean?

Why don't you tell me 'bout the mystery dance?

Mystery Dance

You're upstairs with the boyfriend
While I'm left here to listen
I hear you calling his name
I hear the stutter of ignition

I got this cam'ra click, click, clickin' in my head

I know what you're doin'
I know where you been
I know where, but I don't care
Cause there's no such thing as an original sin

I'm not angry
I'm not angry, anymore

I'm Not Angy

We were waiting for the end of the world
Dear Lord, I sincerely hope you're coming
Cause you really started something

Waiting For The End Of The World

Sometimes I call you, when I know you're not lonely
But I always disconnect it in time

No Action 

I keep thinking about your mother
Oh, I don't want to lick them
I don't wanna be a lover
I just wanna be your victim
I don't go out much late at night
I don't go out much at all
Did you think you were the only one
That was waiting for a call?

The Beat 

No, don't ask me to apologize
I won't ask you to forgive me
If I'm gonna go down
You're gonna come with me

Hand In Hand

Lip service is all you'll ever get from me

Lip Service

Don't say you love me, when it's just a rumour
Don't say a word if there is any doubt
Sometimes I think that love is just a tumour
You've got to cut it out

You say you're sorry for the things that you've done
You say your sorry but you know you don't mean it
I wouldn't worry, I had so much fun
Sometimes I almost feel just like a human being

Maybe they've told you
You were only a girl in a million
You say I got no feelings
This is a good way to kill them

You got a lot to say
Well, I'm not joking
There are some words they don't allow to be spoken

Lipstick Vogue

There are so many people to see
So many people you can check up on and add to your collection
But they keep you hanging on
Until you're well hung
Your mouth is made up but your mind is undone

Accidents will happen
We only hit and run
He used to be your victim
Now he's not the only one

Accidents will happen
We only hit and run
I don't want to hear it
Cause I know what I've done

Accidents Will Happen

But you tease and you flirt
And you shine all the buttons on your green shirt
You can please yourself
But somebody's gonna get it

Green Shirt

I could be a corporal, into corporal punishment
Or the general manager of a large establishment
They pat some good boys on the back and put some to the rod
But I never thought they'd put me on the goon squad

Goon Squad

Photographs of fancy tricks
To get your kicks at sixty six
He thinks of all the lips that he licks
And all the girls that's gonna fix

She gave a little flirt, gave herself a little cuddle
But there's no place here for the mini-skirt waddle
Capital punishment, she's last year's model
They call her Natasha, but she looks like Elsie
I don't want to go to Chelsea

Oh no, it does not move me
Even though I've seen the movie
I don't want to check your pulse
I don't want nobody else
I don't want to go to Chelsea

(I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea

The word upon everyone's lip stick
That you're dedicated
You may not be an old-fashioned girl
You're still going to get dated

Girls Talk

She said, "I catch you taking liberties,
And they do not impress me
Attach me to your credit card
And then you can undress me"

Crawling To The U.S.A.

I wish I had your confidence
It's love and not coincidence
Do you say these words to everyone?
You're fantastic, you're terrific
Your excellence is almost scientific
You took the words out of my mouth
You put your tongue into my cheek
But I'd better lose my memory by Wednesday week

Wednesday Week

Big tears mean nothing
You can count them as they fall
Big tears mean nothing
When you're lying in your coffin
Tell me, who's been taken in?

Big Tears

Layin' about, lying in bed
Maybe it was something that I thought I'd said
With the tempo of today
And the temptation of tomorrow
I could give you anything but sorrow

Just A Memory

Maureen and Stan at the skating rink
Looking for the drummer who threw up in the sink
Laughing and singing, dressed up like dice
Maybe they could freeze to death out there on the ice

Ghost Train

You've never been this far
You've always been too smart
And you know all our boys
Are really girls at heart

This is your big decision
Hope you're not disappointed
He's got double vision
When you want him double jointed

The Imposter

If there's anything that you want
If there's anything that you need
There's no need, to be evasive
Money talks, and it's persuasive

Now you're sending me your best wishes
Signed with love and vicious kisses
You lack lack, you're so lackluster
Is that all the strength you can muster?

Possession

Down on the mainspring, listen to the tick-tock
Clock all the faces who move in on your block
Twice shy and dog tired because you've been bitten
Everything you say now sounds like it was ghost-written

New Amsterdam

I was looking at the black and white world
Trying to name some pin-up
Those days, she was just a beautiful girl
Now she's framed and hung up

I though she was young until
I saw her last night in close detail
Though they all fade away, when you're so pale

It's more than just a physical attraction
It starts with a face and ends up a fixation
But you're never gonna feel a fraction
Of the way it used to work on your imagination

Black And White World (undoubtedly inspired by Pictures of Lily from The Who)

The subtle touch of authority
Will take you anytime down to the station
You say that is all right by me
Now you're living with the curse of sophistication

You're just itching to break her secret laws
As you go from claws to clause
Give me temptation

Temptation